Catheter tubes for fecal drainage systems are designed to facilitate flow of fecal matter, with the fecal matter typically draining into a collection bag. A catheter tube can include a lubricious coating on an interior of the tube to facilitate movement of fecal matter. By providing a multi-layer catheter tube with at least one odor barrier layer, the catheter tube can reduce or eliminate exposure of the patient, caregivers, and other persons in the vicinity of the patient to unpleasant odors. Also, because it is desirable for rectal catheters to be retained in the rectal cavity for extended durations, it has been found beneficial to provide rectal catheters with a transsphincteric region that is collapsible in response to contraction of the patient's anal sphincter muscles, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,147,627 and 7,722,583. Silicone is a preferred material for the transsphincteric region.
In providing a catheter tube extending between the transsphincteric region and a collection bag, not only is it desirable to prevent odor transmission, but it is also desirable to provide resistance to kinking of the catheter tube, because kinking can obstruct the flow of fecal matter therethrough. Fecal drainage systems are frequently employed in combination with enema, lavage, or other irrigation techniques to loosen stool in the rectum of a patient. As a result, water or other liquid is likely to travel through the catheter tube with fecal matter. While such liquid reduces the need to provide a lubricious surface on the interior of the catheter tube, it is desirable for the exterior of the catheter tube to be lubricious, as this facilitates milking the catheter tube to move waste material along the length of the catheter tube.